The conference is the brainchild of Green Flash Salvage, a non-profit organization inspired by a long-running Sarasota conference devoted to the works of the late mystery author John D. MacDonald, whose Travis McGee mysteries attracted an immense following. The organizers have managed to snag an impressive group of authors for the debut conference, including Tim Dorsey, James Hall, Carl Hiassen and Pine Island's own Randy Wayne Wright.

Writers say that Florida has become a center of the mystery genre because of its romance and exotic beauty-and its time-honored attraction for con men and shady characters. Dorsey and Hiassen have both declared that they don't need to make their characters up. "We just read the police blotters," they say.

Many Florida mystery writers present such characters with a suspicious glee. Heroes include down-on-their-luck strippers and environmental terrorists, and villains range from man-eating alligators to corrupt politicians. In Florida fiction, bad guys don't go to jail; they have a nasty encounter with a very unfriendly sugar refinery.

Another thing these authors share with each other-and the legendary MacDonald-says organizer Jay Davis, is a distaste for rampant growth and development. "These people touch us often in ways that help protect the Florida that is vanishing all around us," Davis says.

In addition to panel discussions and book signings, authors will be available to fans during breaks, lunch banquets and a dessert reception. The conference runs from April 12 to 14 at the Hyatt Sarasota. For more information, call (727) 856-3187, or visit the conference Web site at innet.com/~cbranche/mfc.html.